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Business credit cards represent an excellent opportunity for mileage junkies. They carry great signup bonuses and fantastic benefits.
If you just sell items on eBay or Amazon you can get a business card so that you’ll be able to put business expenses on a dedicated card. You don’t need to be registered as a business, when asked for the business name you can name it by just using your own name and add Sole Proprietorship (Joe Smith Sole Proprietorship). Then just use your social security number when you are asked for your Tax ID number.
You can even get a business card if you are just thinking of opening a business and want a card to start purchasing items for a business. People have gotten approved even without any business revenue.
The really great thing about business cards from banks like American Express and Chase is that they don’t report your spending on your personal credit report.
On personal cards if you spend money on your card your credit score will be hurt even if you pay your bill on time. A whopping 30% of your credit score is based on credit utilization. You can pay off your card before your statement is generated to avoid that, but that takes a lot of effort and laying out money well before you have to. Additionally it’s good to have the statement close with a few dollars to show the card is active and being paid every month.
On a business card it’s just not reported, so you can wait until the money is due and even max out your line without it having a negative effect on your score. Plus if you close a business card it won’t ever have an effect on your score.
Get rejected for a business card? It’s no big deal just call Chase Business Recon at 800-453-9719 or AMEX Recon at 866-314-0237. You can shift lines or close personal cards to have a business card approved. You can also send a secure message to try to get approved as well.
So which business cards do I personally carry? These are some of my favorites:
–Chase Ink Bold, and Chase Ink Plus
These are my favorite business cards. I’ve gotten both approved with one call to Reconsideration. The Bold card is a charge card with a flexible spending line that must be paid in full while the Plus card is a credit card that you can pay over time.
They give 50,000 bonus Ultimate Rewards points for spending $5,000 which is awesome. Plus you get 5 points per dollar on cable, telecom, and office supply stores on up to $50,000 in annual spending. And 2 points per dollar on gas and dining.
-Upgrading at your local carrier’s store to an iPhone or Galaxy S4? 5 points per dollar.
-Buying gift cards for gas? 5 points per dollar plus you’ll pay the lower cash rates at the pump.
-Buying gift cards for Amazon, Gap, Groupon, Nordstrom, Southwest Airlines, TJMaxx, or hundreds of other places? 5 points per dollar.
-Buying Visa or MC gift cards to fund Bluebird or use to pay credit card bills? 5 points per dollar.
Those points all add up quickly. Plus they can be transferred to extremely valuable currencies like United, Hyatt, Korean, BA, and more.
This card also gives 2 free lounge visits worldwide via Lounge Club. Even authorized user cards which are free qualify for 2 free annual lounge visits!
Plus there are no foreign exchange fees. The fee is waived for a year and is then $95.
–The Business Gold Rewards Card® from American Express OPEN
You earn triple points on airfare and double points for gas stations, shipping, and for advertising.
The fee is waived for a year and is then $175.
–The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN
For a limited time this card is also offering 25,000 bonus Membership Rewards points for spending $5,000.
Several DDF members have reported being able to apply for this card together with the Gold card and Starwood card and earn the bonus on all 3.
The benefits this card comes with are numerous
-You can get back $400 from airline fee credits (or airline gift cards in $100 increments) in your first card membership year. That’s $200 in 2013 and another $200 in 2014. See this DDF Wiki for more info on that benefit.
-It also comes with a $100 global entry expedited customs (5 year membership) refund.
-Platinum card airline club access (American, Delta, and USAirways) for you and your entire family or 2 guests. It also works at the Airspace lounge in Baltimore, Cleveland, and the one opening this month in Jetblue’s JFK terminal. Airspace gives you and your guests free gift cards upon entry to buy premium drinks or meals in the lounge.
-Priority pass worldwide unlimited lounge membership
-Starwood gold elite status for 250 points back on all stays (even points stays) or free wifi.
-Car rental perks at Avis, Hertz, and National.
-Lost item and purchase protection up to $10,000/item.
-Regus Office Club Membership with worldwide locations.
-No foreign exchange fees.
There is a $450 annual fee for as long as you keep it at the Platinum level though you can always downgrade it if you so desire.
-Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express
This card gives 10K bonus Starpoints for spending $1 and 15K additional bonus Starpoints for spending $5,000 in 6 months.
Starpoints are great for hotel stays (with redemption methods like Cash and points or 5th night free to stretch your points) and for the 25% bonus you get when transferring points to dozens of different airlines including valuable ones like American (which lets you book El Al flights without fuel surcharges), Emirates, JAL, LAN, and USAirways that don’t participate with Membership Rewards or Ultimate Rewards. 20K Starpoints transfers into 25K with most airlines but 20K Starpoints becomes 50K LAN for example where you can book British Airways flights without fuel surcharges.
There’s no annual fee the first year and it’s just $65 thereafter.
Authorized user cards are free and in every November this decade on Small Business Saturday each one of those AU cards has gotten a $25 credit to spend at any small business!
With all AMEX business cards you also get Open Savings benefits which means cash back on top of points at places like Hyatt, Hertz, HP, Microsoft, Fedex, OfficeMax.com, Barnes & Noble, and more.
–Ink Business Cash® Credit Card
With this card you’ll earn 20K bonus Ultimate Rewards points for spending $3,000.
You also earn 5 points per dollar in the same categories as the Ink Bold/Plus card but that’s capped at $25,000 per year. It also earns 2 points per dollar on hotels and dining.
This card also offers 6 months of 0% APR.
You do need an Ink Bold/Plus card or a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to transfer these points to airlines/hotels.
-United Explorer Business card.
From the United Explorer consumer card you can click on “Are you a business owner?” in the top-right to access this card.
This card offers 30,000 miles for spending $1,000 though I was able to get matched to 50,000 plus $50 cash back via Secure Message. I was able to get this card and 2 Ink cards in a 3BM.
This card offers a free checked bag, expanded saver and last seat standard award availability, and 2 free United lounge passes per year.
You also earn 2 miles per dollar on United tickets and at restaurants, gas stations, and office supply stores.
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49 Comments On "Business Cards In My Wallet"
All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.
When I first saw this post I thought it was about business cards (like a small card with your name, address, phone number!)
I guess my head it just not thinking CC’s enough to pick up that the REAL meaning of the word is business cc’s 🙂
I recently did a 3bm for both inks & united biz. Initially they didn’t want to approve any as I have opened many cards last yr etc. After calling many times I got united and ink bold. Am I pushing it by trying again to get the ink plus too? I don’t want any problems such as then seeing I opened 3 cards at same time
@Dan My question is what wallet are You using?
@MarkS:
😀
@cj:
Do you another card you can offer to close to get it approved?
I said I needed it for a dedicated business card for HSA spending.
@david:
My wallets are ridiculous…way too many cards to optimize every possible purchase!
@Dan I’ve had the chase ink bold and ink plus and signed up for the Lounge Club card, which is needed to gain access to a lounge, but I never received it. Any advice?
Does the car rental need to be for “business purposes” in order to qualify for primary coverage on United Explorer Biz?
The recon line that wasposted for Amex hasn’t worked for me in a while it says the systems are down anyone know anything about that
Dan, Ive already had 2 Sapphire cards in the last 2 years (one for me and one for my wife) is there any way that I can still get a signup bonus if I get a new card? Is it possible to open an a new Sapphire account under a business name? (Ink card is not an option right now) Otherwise, the next best card to get for a 3k in 5 months budget is SPG, right? Thanks!
When I try to get a new business or personal card from AMEX I am told that I can only get 1 bonus per year. I opened a card a few months ago for a bonus of 75000 and I did not get the bonus although I spent the necessary $$$$. Any advice?
Also, I am told that the bonus for United cards are “once a life time” does that make sense?
Its one bonus per card type per year for amex. If you got a consumer platinum you can still get business platinum. Shut em down right after the bonus posts to reset the 12 month counter.
For United you can get a consumer and business on the same account and you can just make a new account to get it again. I just got 55,000 plus $50 for the 3rd time myself on the personal card.
Well officially that is their stated policy (I read it in the documentation that came with my card. I was asking more in practice if that is enforced based on your listing it as a general benefit.
Thanks Sam.
Are the miles/points for all these cards combinable with the amex points or starwoods points one has from personal credit cards?
I.e. is everything pooled in the same account?
i dont see the link on ddf to urgrade my amex card
@Dan:
I moved and closed a card to get other approved.
What’s hsa?
Is it a risk to get 3 business cards in such a short time?
Also should I sm or call?
I’m 19 years old and I already have 4 credit cards (Wells Fargo student card, Amex Blue Cash, Amex Starwood Preferred, and the Chase Freedom). I’ve had a credit card since January 2012. I have never missed a payment and always payed in full. Is it smart to apply for a business card. (I sell stuff on eBay).
Dan,
You said that Amex and chase business credit card usage, does not show on your credit report. Does citi bank business cards credit usage get reported on credit reports?
who sells Gas gift cards? and can i get them online with my chase ink bold card?
I’ve had a cc for 6 months, applied for Amex business. They rejected me, despite my score was 742, they said I had short credit history. Where do I go from here? Apply for citi, chase? Thanks
@Dan Gas Gift Cards on the ink bold is 2X or 5X?
Thanks.
@abe:
5x in office stores
how did you get Amex Gold and Plat Business at the same time ?
Amex is working well for me these days. Im carrying the Plat and have been pleasantly surprised with the extra lounge benes. CLE/BWI/LAS (though with LAS you need the invitation too) and they’re are all more than feathers in the cap…they’re outright saviors in markets that dont have a good Amex option otherwise.
PS Yes, LAS does have The Club at LAS but it’s painfully meager with worse than Ikea furniture, a bar that is the opposite of nice and bad coffee; thank the travel Gods that Amex put the Centurion lounge in there instead.
“I’ve had a cc for 6 months, applied for Amex business. They rejected me, despite my score was 742, they said I had short credit history. Where do I go from here? Apply for citi, chase? Thanks”
Where are you based and where do you usually fly to and on which airline?
It’s strange Amex would turn you down outright. I cancelled my Platinum after they lost CO/UA and then recently applied to get it back and had no problem getting it. Did you ask them if they’d clear you for a small credit limit so you could use the benefits? That’s not really their business model, but it might work if you call them with the rejection letter in hand and talk to the right person.
Could you 3bm 2 buisness 1 personal
@mo:
Business cards aren’t reported so they don’t effect average age.
Consumer cards remain on your report for 10 years after they are closed, so you won’t have any effect for closing it for at least 10 years as long as you salvage the credit line.
@Miles:
Yes.
@cj:
HSA=An account you use only for health savings account spending.
No particular risk from that.
You can SM or call or both.
@Moshe:
No reason not to try.
@David:
Citi does not report as well.
@abe:
Office supply stores and Lowe’s for 5x.
@Dave:
Did you try calling Recon and SMing a few times?
@choi:
Use 2 different browsers types.
@yaakov s:
Yes.
Will they pull my personal credit for a business card if the business is an llc ?
Hi Dan,
Really appreciate all your posts.
What do you think of the capital one spark card that gives back 2% cash back plus 150 for signing up?
my saphire preferred was closed in oct/nov b/c my broker used my account as a staging area to combine other people’s ur points. i tired to open a new saphire now.Chase recon denied me b/c of my criminal record of transferring points to a non-spouse. is there anyway for me to do teshuva?
Hi dan
If I don’t mind to pay most of my cc bill before the bill closing date would you still recommend a business card over a consumer card, and if yes then what’s top of the list ( I already have the sapphire and freedom )?
Dan,
What type of cards are the chase ink (are they visa, mastercard, amex etc.)?
Dan:
I recently applied for a BOFA Hawaiian Air Business CC. While I had no difficulty getting the card myself, BOFA sent a letter asking for past tax returns, etc. re: proof of business/income, of which there was none. Is there a way around this?
Thanks in advance.
Baruch
Hi Dan:
I have had the old Miliage plus ( not explorer) since 07. Just applied for miliage explorer business with same FFN. Should I have any trouble getting the bonus? thx
Dan:
Sorry if this has been covered before but if you open business cards with a SSN is that still not reported? Additionally even if your spending is not reported, if the credit limit is then closing the card would hurt your credit – do you know if it is?
@Dan,
Thanks for all this great info here and in the other blogs. I just got approved for Ink Bold and Ink Plus in a 2BM with one call to reconsideration and moving over some credit line from an older card.
I don’t have “the gift of gab” but the questions were relatively straightforward
– what is the nature of your business
– how long business has been
– annual earnings
– annual profits
– current salary from other jobs
– expected annual earnings and profits for next year
– expected average and maximum charges per month
I also was able to check my credit report (from the initial reject) and verify I only had one hard pull for the 2BM
I was not able to attend the seminar but hope there will be some web ops in the future. especially interested in shortcuts on getting cheap miles fares to Israel.
thanks again,
YY
Here are my question;
#1. If I apply for Citi® IdentityMonitor will it cause a hard pull or something like that?
#2. I am an additional on my wife’s sapphire, can I apply for my self as well or I goto first get off my wife’s card ( if I do is it considered as closing down a card )?
#3. If I was late with a payment with my local gas company will it hurt my credit score?
I have the same question as @centro #1, so if somebody can answer that you would kill 2 birds in one shot 🙂
@centro: you can apply for your own without getting off your wife’s. i had that set up
Dan, what are the best choices for 3bm chase? i have sapphire visa and united explorer, BA and Marriot open. i need to do a 3BM in order to close marriot and BA, any suggestions?
thanks
Dan,
Kindly please share with us your opinion on the capital one spark card, it gives back full 2% and $150 bonus.
can somebody answer questions 33-34. shkoyach!
hello dan.
thanks for all your great deals and info.I looked on british airways site and couldn’t find a trip to israel for 45000 avios, can you clarify
thanks
Hey Dan, i was wondering what the invitation code to the 2 free lounge passes with the Chase Ink card was.
If I open up a business credit card, does it hurt my credit?
Do you know if it’s the same in Canada, can I open a business card without having a legal name? Thanks
Are there Business Credit Cards that allow balance transfers? Please help asap.
Thanks for all the great info. Just got my Ink business card and i’m trying to get the $5000 spent in three months. Can i use it for all my purchases right now, such as clothing, groceries, bills, tickets etc?